This post is a part of my series Always Books in which I share some of our family's favorite living books. Gathered through our twenty-four (so far) years of homeschooling, they are books that we have loved, books that are inspiring, books that we heartily recommend. These are books that will stay on our shelves...always.
I wrote about the history books of Genevieve Foster a couple of years ago, but since dear Genevieve's books will be on our shelves always, I thought that she needed to be added to this series.
A
few weeks ago, I began reading George Washington’s World to
my youngest child, my last homeschool student.
As I opened the book, I wondered if this would be my last time to read this
aloud. Secretly, I hoped not, although
it is likely to be.
You
see, I have read George Washington’s World to my students several
times over the years. I have also read Augustus
Caesar’s World, The World of Columbus and Sons, The
World of Captain John Smith, and Abraham Lincoln’s World,
all by Genevieve Foster. And can I say
that I have enjoyed these history books every bit as much as my children
have?
Genevieve
Foster (1893-1979) was a commercial artist turned housewife who believed that
there must be a better way to learn history than the way that she had learned
it. I believe that she found a better
way! She wrote history for children
“horizontally” as opposed to “vertically,” an innovative approach. Foster would take a central historical figure
and write not only about that person’s life, but about key people who lived and
events that were taking place all over the world during the time that
that person lived. Learning history in
the traditional way, she said, “was about as dull and unsatisfying as a play
might be, if only one character appeared upon the stage, while the others
faintly mumbled their lines in the wings, out of sight of the audience.”
Foster
wrote and illustrated nineteen books, four of which were Newbery Honor
books.
Each
of the five books that I have named above is divided into five parts, each part
a section of the main character’s life span.
At the beginning of each section is a double page spread of
illustrations featuring other historical figures and events that take place
during that life stage, with a very brief description under each
illustration. We take the time to look
at each one and read all the captions before we read that section,
familiarizing ourselves with the main players before we read the details.
Then
comes the narrative, masterfully told as a story (for isn’t history a story?),
engaging readers young and old. Even my
youngest children have listened in as I read aloud to their older siblings. We learn of the main character, his parents,
siblings, childhood friends, little-known stories about his life. We get to know him. Then we are introduced to other people who
were alive in his world, those near and those far, all across the globe. Chapters are brief, the stories well
told. At the end of the section, we go
back to the illustrations and review the characters and events we have just
learned. (Charlotte Mason would call
this narration.)
We
continue this pattern through the remaining sections of the book, continuing to
add to our knowledge of the main character and of the other players, adding
more as we go along.
By
the time we have finished our story, we have developed an intimate acquaintance
with the main character (as well as many others), and feel as if we have lived
in his time.
While
these books are not specifically Christian (there is discussion of other
religions and cultures, and these are treated with equal respect), there is
also fair representation of Christianity, much more than would be offered in a
typical modern history textbook. Let me
share a passage that moved us when we read Abraham Lincoln’s World.
It
was the mid 1830’s, and four Nez Perce Indians from Oregon had traveled
eastward seeking the white man’s Book of Heaven. At the end of a 200-mile journey, they came to St. Louis, where
they were warmly received by General William Clark (of the Lewis and Clark
expedition) and his men. They spent the
winter there, and were lavishly “wined and dined,” so to speak,
...but they were
disappointed. At the farewell dinner in the spring, one of the Nez Perce rose
and addressed the company.
“I
came to you over the trail of many moons from the setting sun. My people sent
me to get the white man’s Book of Heaven. You took me to where you allow your
women to dance, as we do not ours: and the Book was not there! You took me to
where they worship the Great Spirit with candles and incense, and the Book was
not there. You make my feet heavy with gifts, and yet the Book is not among
them! I came with an eye partly open for my people who sit in darkness. How can
I go back blind to my blind people? I have no more words.”
Isn’t that poignant? “The book was not
there.”
We began
by learning history; we discovered a treasure.
Here within the pages of our history book, we were
saddened by the disappointment of the men who had come to find truth and did
not find it. We were inspired to look through spiritual eyes in our
interactions with people...and not be so ready to offer them entertainment or
earthly treasure, when their hearts are searching for eternal treasure.
So do you see why I do not want this to be my last time
through the Genevieve Foster books of history?
Foster's books will remain on our shelves. Mostly, they are informative and inspiring (and true!) stories, but they are also a handy reference. Perhaps my children will come to borrow these books as they teach their own children...
